Toasted Skin Syndrome

Toasted skin syndrome occurs when users keep hot laptops on their knees for prolonged periods of time, creating an unusual-looking mottled skin condition.

In a recent case, a boy, 12, developed the condition on his left thigh after playing computer games for a few hours per day over the course of several months.

“He recognised that the laptop got hot on the left side; however, regardless of that, he did not change its position,” Swiss researchers said in an article published in the US journal Paediatrics.

In another case from 2007, a Virginia law student sought treatment for the mottled discoloration on her leg. The doctor that treated her was stumped until she learned the young woman spent six or more hours a day working on her laptop propped on her lap.

Heating pads and other heat sources can also cause the condition but they aren’t usually hot enough to cause burns. While the condition is generally harmless, it can cause permanent darkening to the skin.

Prolonged skin inflammation can potentially increase chances for squamous cell skin cancer, which is more aggressive than the most common skin cancer. But Dr. Anthony J. Mancini said its unlikely computer use would lead to cancer since it’s so easy to avoid prolonged close skin contact with laptops.